Physician-Assisted Suicide and Other Forms of Euthanasia in Islamic Spiritual Care

Abstract

The muteness in the Qur'an about suicide due to intolerable pain and a firm opposition to suicide in the hadith literature formed a strong opinion among Muslims that neither repentance nor the suffering of the person can remove the sin of suicide or mercy 'killing' (al-qatl al-rahim), even if these acts are committed with the purpose of relieving suffering and pain. Some interpretations of the Islamic sources even give advantage to murderers as opposed to people who commit suicide because the murderers, at least, may have opportunity to repent for their sin. However, people who commit suicide are 'labeled' for losing faith in the afterlife without a chance to repent for their act. This paper claims that Islamic spiritual care can help people make decisions that may impact patients, family members, health care givers and the whole community by responding to questions such as 'What is the Islamic view on death?', 'What is the Islamic response to physician-assisted suicide and other forms of euthanasia?', 'What are the religious and moral underpinnings of these responses in Islam?'

Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Attitudes Toward Suicide Questionnaire Among Healthcare personnel in Malaysia

“… 13 , 14 This could hinder help-seeking behavior among at-risk suicidal individuals. 15 Considering the importance of suicide prevention and management in a health care setting, 16 , 17 and because suicide attitude is influenced by culture, 18 , 19 it is crucial to adapt and validate a Malaysian suicide attitude questionnaire.…”

The urgent need for advance directives in India

“…Different philosophies have viewed the issue of ending life very differently. While the concept of choosing death is found in ancient Greek philosophy (14), Judaism and Islam do not support suicide in any form (15). Suicide was unlawful in the country and any attempt to take one's life was treated as a crime, though this has come under criticism for a long time (16).…”

The Islamic perspective on physician-assisted suicide and euthanasia

“…[2][3][4][5][6] The Quran presents God (Allah) as the former and sovereign over life and death. [7][8][9] Furthermore, Allah has made life sacred and forbidden ending a human life or one's own life (suicide). 8 Therefore, hastening death is considered to be a sin and this is explicitly stated in the Quran.…”

“…[7][8][9] Furthermore, Allah has made life sacred and forbidden ending a human life or one's own life (suicide). 8 Therefore, hastening death is considered to be a sin and this is explicitly stated in the Quran. 8,10 Euthanasia is etymologically derived from two Greek words, eu means easy or good, and thanatos means death.…”